funbook-pk Chapter 46 Monday workday
Chapter 46 Monday workday
Back home, Jiang Yan stood in the entryway, and as he bent down to change his shoes, he called out, "Nuna, I'm home."
The room was quiet, and no one answered.
He tossed the keys into the small tray on the shoe cabinet; the plastic made a crisp sound as it clattered, which was particularly loud in the quiet room.
Logically, she should have already finished washing the dishes and was comfortably lounging on the sofa watching TV by now.
"Choi Jin-ri, don't try to play hide-and-seek with me, you're just being childish."
Jiang Yan muttered to himself as he walked into the living room, his finger touching the light switch on the wall, and he turned on the living room light with a "click".
The sofa was empty, with the fuzzy plaid blanket neatly folded and draped over the armrest, and the cushions were also properly placed in the corner, looking nothing like someone had sat on it.
He walked towards the kitchen, where all the dishes and utensils in the sink had been put away, a row of dishes was neatly stacked on the drain rack, the stove was polished to a shine, and even the dishcloth he usually tossed aside by the sink had been wrung out and hung back on the hook.
"She really left?" Jiang Yan frowned, took out his phone to call her, and just as his finger swiped to the call history, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something on the dining table.
Underneath a mug was a light yellow sticky note, its edges slightly curled up by the night breeze seeping in through the crack in the balcony door. On it were a few lines of writing in black marker.
[Jiang Yan, I've washed the dishes and wiped the stove. I lifted up your mattress and checked it; there's no mattress underneath, just a thin layer of foam. I'll order a new mattress for you tomorrow. You can't return it, or I'll get angry.]
【I'm leaving now. I have a schedule to run early tomorrow morning. Don't call me; I should be almost back at the apartment by then. Good luck with the recording tomorrow, Monday!】
Jiang Yan stared at the line of words for a moment, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his lips. He turned the sticky note over, and there was another line of small writing on the back.
[By the way, your sister's room is quite cute. Remember to get me a copy when you have the money. Also, your succulent, Pabra, doesn't need constant watering; it'll drown if you keep watering it.]
After reading the last line, Jiang Yan pursed his lips, turned off the kitchen light, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
At 7:15 a.m. the next morning, Jiang Yan appeared at the entrance of SM Entertainment, wearing the silver-gray production worker badge around his neck and carrying an iced Americano.
There were several times more staff coming and going in the lobby than on weekends. A few people's eyes lingered on his name tag for a moment, and then they whispered to their colleagues.
Jiang Yan ignored the stares and walked straight to the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened, there were two people standing inside.
One of them was a young man wearing a black hoodie, who looked like a trainee, and he lowered his head and moved to the corner.
The other was a middle-aged woman wearing black-rimmed glasses, holding a stack of folders in her arms. She nodded slightly after seeing the name tag on Jiang Yan's chest.
Jiang Yan pressed the button for the fifth floor and leaned against the elevator wall, drinking an iced Americano.
The corridor of the fifth-floor production department was much livelier than usual. Several recording engineers and mixing engineers were standing in the corridor chatting with coffee in their hands. When they saw Jiang Yan walking over, one of the men with a buzz cut took the initiative to greet him.
"Jiang Yanxi, were you in charge of recording Tiffany's audio today?"
"Yes, sir." Jiang Yan bowed slightly. "Please take care of me, senior."
"Hey, don't be so polite." The man with the buzz cut patted his shoulder with a smile. "Senior Kenzie told us about you. From now on, we're all colleagues. If you need any help, just let us know."
Jiang Yan thanked him and walked to Recording Studio No. 1 at the end of the corridor.
Jiang Yan pushed open the door, and Kenzie, wearing monitoring headphones, sat in front of the mixing console, her fingers making subtle adjustments on the faders.
Perhaps she noticed someone coming in out of the corner of her eye, because she took off her headphones and turned around.
Seeing that it was Jiang Yan, Kenzie glanced at the clock on the wall. "7:20, not bad. Arriving this early on the first day of official recording is much better than some old hands who have been doing it for seven or eight years and are still rushing to the last minute."
Jiang Yan smiled, took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack by the door, then walked over and sat down next to the mixing console.
"We have a lot of work to do today." Kenzie pushed a printed schedule in front of him. "We'll record the verses in the morning and the chorus and interlude in the afternoon. Tiffany's voice is at its best from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so we'll put the most important chorus in that time slot."
"Before that, please double-check the project documents I gave you last time."
"Inside."
Jiang Yan put on his headphones, turned on the iMac in front of him, and brought up the project files Kenzie had given him last week.
The screen displayed a dense array of audio tracks. He took a deep breath and got into work mode.
Time passed by, second by second.
At 8:30, Ahn Jung-hwan pushed open the door and came in, carrying three cups of coffee. One was for Kenzie, one for Kang Yeon, and one for himself.
"Chief Lee has a meeting this morning and won't be able to come over until the afternoon." Ahn Jung-hwan sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, "But he asked me to tell you that he listened to your version of the adaptation again last night and said that this is the first time in twenty years that he has gotten goosebumps from listening to a demo."
Jiang Yan was a little embarrassed by the praise and was about to say something modest when Kenzie, without turning her head, chimed in, "He's said that to me at least ten times. Don't take it too seriously."
Ahn Jung-hwan shrugged, took a sip of coffee, and didn't reply.
At nine o'clock sharp, Tiffany pushed open the door and came in.
Today she wore a simple white T-shirt and light blue jeans, her long hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she wore almost no makeup, except for a thin layer of lip balm on her lips.
Unlike last week when she looked so tired that her eyes were covered in dark circles, she was radiant today.
Good morning, Yeon-hyeon! Good morning, Jung-hwan oppa! Good morning, Kenzie unnie!
As soon as Tiffany entered, she smiled and waved to them. Then she looked at Jiang Yan and said, "How's it going? Are you ready? Nuna is in particularly good condition today. She went to bed before 11 p.m. last night and drank honey water this morning. She didn't even dare to touch coffee."
Jiang Yan stood up and bowed slightly: "Good morning, Teacher Kenzie said that we'll start with the verses today. We'll record the verses this morning and then move on to the chorus after 10 a.m.
"no problem."
Tiffany walked to the pop filter in the recording studio, put on the monitor headphones hanging next to her, tested the height of the microphone stand, and after a moment of preparation, gave Jiang Yan an OK sign.
The recording officially began at 9:10.
Tiffany recorded the verses three times, and each time it was flawless.
As Jiang Yan listened, he quickly jotted down the details that needed adjustment in his notebook.
In his vision, Tiffany radiated a bright amber-gold light, clean, full, and brimming with power.
At 10:00 AM sharp, the recording of the chorus officially began.
Tiffany took off her headphones, drank some warm water, stretched her shoulders, took a deep breath, and stood in front of the microphone again.
Jiang Yan adjusted the monitoring mix ratio on the mixing console and then pressed the record button.
First chorus.
Tiffany's voice flowed from the monitor speakers, like the loneliness and freedom of someone walking barefoot on a wooden floor in the dead of night.
In the eight bars of the interlude, she only added an impromptu humming, without lyrics, just her voice.
Jiang Yan listened with his eyes closed, then opened them and met Kenzie's gaze.
Kenzie didn't say anything, he just nodded.
Over the next four hours, Jiang Yan and Tiffany recorded the entire song "I Just Wanna Dance" at least seven or eight times, from the verses to the chorus and the bridge.